Let The Madness Begin!: Gigantea Sports Section’s March Madness Predictions

Two members of the Redwood Gigantea’s sports section, Fabian Anguino ‘26, and Jake Villarreal ‘26, share their ball knowledge on who they think will take home the men’s college basketball national championship.

By Fabian Anguiano and Jake Villarreal

Fabian Natty Pick: Now obviously, we can not go over every matchup as much as I would like to, so I am going to narrow it down.

I am going to cut straight to the point: I have the Michigan Wolverines stunning the Blue Devils in the finals to sit at the top of college basketball. 

Michigan has drastically improved from last season, from what I was calling a mediocre team, to being a heavyweight force, being led by American-Dominican phenom forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who averages roughly 15 points per game. He also won the 2026 Big Ten player of the year.

Team To Watch Out For: There are many sneaky teams to look out for throughout this madness, like Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), which I have making the Elite Eight. Forget about them being the 11th seed. Every year in March Madness, there is a team that makes some wild Cinderella story run, and my heart and mind are telling me VCU, like many say, a person with nothing to lose is dangerous, and this fits right with VCU, although they will fall to the Florida Gators in the Elite Eight.

Power Matchup: A matchup that I have on my bracket that will have me bring a blanket, a huge bag of popcorn, and an iced cold white cherry Gatorade to my couch, will be Arizona vs Gonzaga. 

Two heavyweight teams duking it out in the final four, in one corner, you have the Arizona Wildcats, who are very big favorites coming into this tournament, being led by senior guard Jaden Bradley, who averages a decent 13.3 points per game.

In the other corner, you have a Gonzaga team that lives up to its Bulldog name, having a 30-3 overall record, being led by 6’9 tank Graham Ike, who averages 19.7 points per game, and an impressive .573 shooting percentage. This game will be a nail-biter, and I can not wait for it. Gonzaga 83-81.

Natty Game Details: Though I did say I have Michigan dethroning the Blue Devils, I did not say how they will win. In my opinion, the first three of these quarters will be pretty tense with back-and-forth action, but, at some point, I have a feeling that this Duke team can fall asleep and sell the game, sort of like how Houston sold the game to Florida last year. I have the same vibes, just closer throughout. Give Michigan 86-77.  Party it up, Ann Arbor.

Jake’s Picks and Notes:  As Fabian says, we cannot go through every match-up possible, so we will cut to the chase.  I have Duke winning it all over the Arizona Wildcats in Indianapolis.   

Duke has obviously been one of, if not the best team in the sport. Cameron Boozer has been one of my favorites to watch (22 Points Per Game, 10 Rebounds Per Game) throughout the year and I have no doubt he will continue into March. 

We’ll cut to their (my proclaimed) opponents, the Arizona Wildcats. Obviously, another 1 seed is the tippy top of basketball, Brayden Burries is my player to watch for Arizona (Named in the ESPN 100) with 15 PPG, and 4 RPG. 

My personal power matchup of the 1st round is Tennessee vs Miami (OH), and I really, really want to lean Miami (OH) in this, and I absolutely will. The disrespect for the Redhawks is absolute insanity, and we will not stand for this. Tennessee is 4-5 against top 25 teams; they are no slouches, but you cannot just throw this Redhawks team away in this tournament. Pure gut instincts. It’s March. 

Championship Game: Duke vs Arizona. Duke wins 84-77.  National Champs. Always remember this about March Madness: expect the unexpected. 

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